Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 1, 2026

VY Pyxidis

VY Pyxidis is a BL Herculis variable in the constellation of Pyxis. It ranges between apparent magnitudes 7.13 and 7.40 over a period of 1.23995 days. Located around 826 light-years distant, it shines with a luminosity approximately 46 times that of the Sun and has a surface temperature of 6,133 K

Last revised
Jul 1, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
361 w
Citations
16
Source
Wikipedia ↗
VY Pyxidis

A visual band light curve for VY Pyxidis, plotted from data published by Sanwal and Sarma (1991)1
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Pyxis
Right ascension 08h 54m 29.6305s2
Declination −23° 31′ 18.575″2
Apparent magnitude (V) 7.13 - 7.403
Characteristics
Spectral type F3/5III4
Variable type BL Her3
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ) RA: 11.0812 mas/yr
Dec.: 29.5092 mas/yr
Parallax (π)3.9495±0.0186 mas2
Distance826 ± 4 ly
(253 ± 1 pc)
Details
Mass2.45 M☉
Radius6.56 R☉
Luminosity466 L☉
Surface gravity (log g)2.9875 cgs
Temperature6,1335 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−0.1015 dex
Other designations
VY Pyx, BD−22° 2440, HD 76296, HIP 43736, SAO 176679
Database references
SIMBADdata

VY Pyxidis is a BL Herculis variable (type II Cepheid) in the constellation of Pyxis. It ranges between apparent magnitudes 7.13 and 7.40 over a period of 1.23995 days.3 Located around 826 light-years distant, it shines with a luminosity approximately 46 times that of the Sun and has a surface temperature of 6,133 K

References

References

  1. Sanwal, N. B.; Sarma, M. B. K. (June 1991). "BV 690, a new Bright Type II Cepheid". Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. 12 (2): 119–131. Bibcode:1991JApA...12..119S. doi:10.1007/BF02709301. S2CID 120662105. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  3. Wils, Patrick (15 November 2011). "VY Pyxidis". AAVSO Website. American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  4. Houk, N.; Smith-Moore, M. (1988), "Catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD stars, Vol.4", Michigan Spectral Survey, 4, Bibcode:1988mcts.book.....H
  5. Anders, F.; Khalatyan, A.; Queiroz, A. B. A.; Chiappini, C.; Ardevol, J.; Casamiquela, L.; Figueras, F.; Jimenez-Arranz, O.; Jordi, C.; Monguio, M.; Romero-Gomez, M.; Altamirano, D.; Antoja, T.; Assaad, R.; Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Castro-Ginard, A.; Enke, H.; Girardi, L.; Guiglion, G.; Khan, S.; Luri, X.; Miglio, A.; Minchev, I.; Ramos, P.; Santiago, B. X.; Steinmetz, M. (2022). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: StarHorse2, Gaia EDR3 photo-astrometric distances (Anders+, 2022)". Vizier Online Data Catalog. Bibcode:2022yCat.1354....0A.
  6. Chandler, Colin Orion; et al. (2016). "The Catalog of Earth-Like Exoplanet Survey Targets (CELESTA): A Database of Habitable Zones Around Nearby Stars". The Astronomical Journal. 151 (3): 59. arXiv:1510.05666. Bibcode:2016AJ....151...59C. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/151/3/59. S2CID 119246448.